The Estevan Bruins fought their way to a near-exact split with the Melville Millionaires on their final weekend before the Christmas break, with a 4-2 win on Friday, December 15 in Estevan and a 4-2 loss a night later in Melville.

In the win in Estevan, the Bruins got things started early in the first period, with Jake Fletcher taking a bounce off the end wall and backhanding it home for his first of two on the weekend.

Witzke got a marker of his own in the early second period, jumping into the rush and burying a feed from Jayden Davis under the pad of goaltender Brandon Wells. Then, on a delayed penalty, Kaelan Holt took a back door pass from Zach Goberis and made the finish look easy for his 20th of the year.

Melville would get some of their own back late in the third as Tucker Chapman was left alone in the slot and finished off his fifth of the season. But early in the third, Hayden Guilderson restored Estevan’s three-goal lead as he collected a rebound in front and fired it home for his 13th. Melville added a 5-on-3 goal from Damien Bentz, but that was as close as they got, and Estevan claimed a 4-2 win.

A night later, Melville flipped the script, getting out to an early 1-0 lead of their own on a goal by Ethan Kopyczyn, who took a feed from Isaac Embree on a 2-on-1. In the second, much the way the Bruins had a night earlier, the Millionaires built a 3-0 lead on goals by defensemen Mack Gray and Clayton Eisler.

Estevan clawed their way back into the hockey game late, as Fletcher was left alone in the slot with just under five minutes left and made no mistake. A minute later, Arthur Miller scored as he redirected Witzke’s point shot, but it wasn’t enough as with just two seconds left in the hockey game Eisler salted away the win with his second goal, this one into an empty net.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Estevan moves to 20-12-2 on the season, and leads the Viterra Division with 43 points, two up on the Weyburn Red Wings. Weyburn is Estevan’s next opponent on December 30, and we will have that game for you on Rock 106.

GAME NOTES

Johnny Witzke now leads the Bruins defense in scoring with 27 points in 35 games. He is riding a three-game streak in which he’s put up multiple points in all three games. This includes a four-point outing against Notre Dame, a career-high.

Bo Didur has now won two of his three starts in a Bruins sweater. He has a .934 save percentage and GAA of 2.01 in his first three games as a Bruin.